Gurpreet Singh Sandhu makes history again, becomes first Indian to feature in Europa League

Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was named in Norwegian club Stabaek FC’s squad for their Europa League qualifying match against Welsh Premier League side Connah’s Quay Nomads FC, making him the first from the country to play in the continental competition. Sandhu, who signed for Stabaek in 2014, made headlines in May when he became the first Indian to start a first team match in a top-division league of Europe. In that match against IK Start in the Norwegian Tippeligaen, he kept a clean sheet in a 5-0 away victory. He then returned back home to play in goal for India’s thumping victory over Laos. [caption id=“attachment_2866176” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Gurpreet Singh Sandhu became the first Indian to feature in the Europa League. Image Courtesy: Facebook[/caption] The keeper featured in the premier European club competition in Rhyl, Wales on Thursday evening. His Europa League debut though, was marred by injury as he was substituted after 27 minutes when he injured his hand. “When you’re a goalkeeper at a better place (club), you need to be patient. I trust the coaches and I realise that it took me a few months to get ready. I’ve been played at the right time to be honest. The wait was frustrating at times, but I made myself understand that there are reasons I was on the bench. You have to wait, or else you’ll never go up,” Sandhu had told _Firstpost_ in an interview in April 2015. Sandhu has been the number one goalkeeper in the Indian team since Stephen Constantine took over in 2015, with the English coach preferring him over veteran Subrata Paul. Sayouba Mande, who is the first choice goalkeeper at the Norwegian club, is the preferred choice over Sandhu but the Indian has slowly made in-roads into the first team. His patience and hard work are finally paying off, and this opportunity to start in the Europa League qualifying match is just stepping stone for his progress. Gurpreet also holds the distinction of being the only Indian footballer to play for the first team in a top-division league of Europe. While Mohammed Salim, former captain Bhaichung Bhutia and current national skipper Sunil Chhetri have all played abroad, they were never able to break into the first side of their teams. Bengal footballer Salim played for Scottish top-tier side Celtic FC in 1936, but he did not feature in the premier division. Bhutia played for English third division side Bury FC in 1999-2000 and current national skipper Chhetri played for the ‘B’ team of Sporting Lisbon in 2012. Sandhu has gone that one step ahead and it seems there’s no stopping him now.